Three dead in gun battle near Texas university

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http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC120814-0000068/Three-dead-in-shooting-near-Texas-AM-University

A man killed two people, including a law enforcement officer who was serving him an eviction notice at a home near Texas A&M University, yesterday before police fatally shot the suspect in a gun battle that lasted half an hour, officials said.

Four people were also injured, police and city officials in College Station said. The shooting comes at a time of national concern over gun violence after two recent mass shootings.

The dead officer was identified as Brazos County Constable Brian Bachmann, said Mr Scott McCollum, assistant chief of the police department in College Station.

Mr McCollum said Mr Bachmann, 41, was shot in front of the house, about two blocks from the Texas A&M campus, and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police identified the gunman as Thomas Caffall, 35, and the bystander killed as Mr Chris Northcliff, 43, of College Station.

College Station city spokesman Jay Socol said authorities were still investigating Caffall's background. It was unclear whether Caffall was renting the home or was being evicted for nonpayment of a mortgage, he said.

Officials said the wounded included a 55-year-old woman, who underwent surgery, and College Station police officer Justin Oehlke, who was in stable condition after being shot in the leg.

College Station police officers shot and killed the gunman, said Jason James, a sergeant with the police department in nearby Bryan, Texas.

A Facebook page listed as belonging to Caffall, which had a photo nearly identical to a driver's license picture released by authorities, included photographs of rifles he had said he had acquired, including a Czech vz 58 assault rifle.

The College Station shooting comes less than four weeks after a man opened fire in a crowded Colorado movie theatre during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 people and wounded 58 others.

On Aug 5 a gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin before committing suicide.